Last Night On Earth
by MadeForTrapping
Summary: Arthur and Merlin have been reunited, but as they and Camelot stand on the brink of destruction, will any of them survive? Or will this be one evil too great for them to overcome? Last part in the Forever Yours series!
1. Unexpected Surprises

**A/N:**

Phew! This is the last part to my Forever Yours series, and it's going to be one heck of a ride! There'll be ups and downs, loop-de-loops and plenty of nail biting moments!

As always, a HUGE thank you to Cori, my absolutely fabulous beta who has been one heck of a lady! A HUGE thank you as always to you guys and girls who read and review! It's really rewarding to know what you think!

WARNING: There will be moments of violence and rare intimate M/M implied moments in this story. So please, if this isn't for you, then turn away now! Otherwise, read on and review!

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**UNEXPECTED SURPRISES**

Merlin was kissing Arthur as though his life depended on it, heated and desperate. Magical power unlike anything he had ever experienced swelled within Merlin's body, and the air around them began to crackle with energy. With his heightened senses, he caught the acrid smell of fire and sensed a blistering heat on his skin, and he reacted instantly . Shoving Arthur back forcefully, Merlin jumped in the opposite direction as the flaming missile slammed into the ground where they had just been. Large fragments of jagged rock shot out everywhere; yet even as Merlin rolled to the side, a magical shield was already weaving around himself and Arthur. The fragments instantly disintegrated into a fine dust when they hit the shield and coming to a stop, Merlin looked over at Arthur, who was getting to his feet, a little unsteadily.

_Are you hurt, Arthur? _Merlin asked hurriedly, trying to see if his lover had suffered any injury.

_I'm fine, Merlin,_ Arthur growled before softening his tone. _What about you?_

_Same,_ Merlin answered simply, and he looked up into the dark sky.

Merlin needed to be high up on the battlements. Without the use of his magic to protect the archers and trebuchets, the enemy would gain the front gates. But that would mean leaving Arthur on his own, and knowing Arthur, the young king would go to the front of the fight where Merlin couldn't protect him.

_I need to be up top with the archers, Arthur, _Merlin told him and took a step towards the king. _I have to help them..._

_Go, Merlin, _Arthur interrupted and patted the scabbard attached to his hip. _I have Excalibur, remember, and I guarantee that they won't kill me. I promise it. Now go, go!_

Before Merlin could voice any more concerns, Arthur pulled his helmet over his head and ran off towards the lower part of Camelot. Cursing under his breath and promising that he was going to make Arthur regret running off, Merlin turned and ran down the steps. Turning sharply to the right, he raced down the sheltered pathway that lead to the ladder leading directly up to the battlements. A large explosion suddenly erupted, and Merlin stumbled into the edge of one of the stone pillars, his upper arm throbbing in pain. Cursing and grabbing his arm, Merlin ran on towards the ladder . Another explosion rocked the ground and this time, Merlin heard screams of pain and terror before hearing the muffled thuds of bodies dropping to the floor. _Faster. Must run faster._

Just as Merlin got to the ladder, heaving and gasping for breath, a charred and headless body fell to the floor right in front of him. Fighting back the urge to gag, Merlin stared past the body and looked upwards. As many as six flaming missiles were tiny specks in the sky, all aimed at the archers and the stone guardians that were protecting Camelot. Swallowing hard, Merlin began to climb the ladder and with every rung that he stepped upon, the tiny specks grew dangerously closer. Heaving himself onto the narrow ledge skirting the wall, Merlin scrambled to stand up and dashed towards the front of the castle, where he knew Arthur would be fighting.

Merlin desperately wanted to look at what was going on around him, but he kept his attention ahead of him as his legs carried him to his goal. He jumped over wounded men, over crumbling holes in the walkway, and over men who would never get up. _Don't think,_ Merlin told himself. _Thinking is for later._ With a wave of relief, Merlin saw that the tower above the gates was still intact, although it was devoid of the men that should have been there letting their arrows fly. Not waiting for his mind to begin filling in reasons behind their absence, Merlin placed a foot on the bottom rung of the ladder and pulled himself upwards.

Scrambling up onto the tower, Merlin looked up and saw the missiles getting ever nearer. Time slowed as Merlin looked at everything around him. To the left, two archers were nocking their arrows, the tips blazing brightly against the blackened sky. As his eyes swept across the view, Merlin could see the stone guardians moving at a snail's pace, stone swords slicing away rows upon rows of snake demons and dead animals. Further to the right, almost directly in front of him, Merlin could make out three people at the very back of the army, sitting atop black horses. Continuing his glance to the right, he saw two archers struck by black lightning, their bodies convulsing in tortuously slow shakes that sickened Merlin's stomach. And then time sped up and the battle roared around him again.

Planting his feet firmly on the tower floor, Merlin took a deep breath and looked up into the black sky. The missiles were closer and a crawling heat prickled at Merlin's skin. _Let's just see how powerful I am..._

"Ser'otha chi, prefor'sk a nor," Merlin intoned and the air chilled dramatically as he regarded the ever closer missiles. "K'fallahr doras reai!"

Throwing his hands upwards, a single bolt of what could only be described as lightning shot from Merlin's fingers, up into the sky above him. As the lightning bolt soared to meet the missiles, it suddenly split into smaller bolts and spread out across the night sky. Fine filaments of magic rippled from one bolt to another, connecting each of the bolts to form a large fishing net spread over the sky. Just in time — a second later, the first missile slammed into the net. A loud boom erupted and for a moment, everything stopped as all the men stared up at the sky. The second, third and fourth missiles slammed into the protective shield, exploding into a million tiny pieces that floated down on the wind.

Not needing to continue watching to see if the fifth and sixth missiles would suffer the same fate, Merlin lowered his head and moved to look over the edge to see how best he could help with the fight. Before he could take more than three steps, Merlin felt a sharp pain in his chest that caused him to stumble backwards. With a deep frown on his face, Merlin looked down and all colour drained from his face. An arrow was sticking out of his chest, and as he stepped once more backwards, Merlin lost his footing and plummeted backwards, off of the tower.

As Merlin hurtled towards the ground, he heard Arthur scream out his name.

Staring out at Camelot, with the silent stone giants staring blankly into space, the siblings heard Arthur's speech as though the young king had been standing there right in front of them. Edward felt something akin to pride swell within his body as Arthur rallied his men, and after glancing at Alexander, he knew that his brother felt the same. _Those men will die good deaths, _Edward thought, and he took that as a small consolation for the pain that was about to befall the men in a few hours. Yet that plan suddenly appeared to be lost because the sky turned black as pitch, which could only mean one thing.

"What do you think you're doing?" Edward asked as he turned to face Elizabeth. "We have at least two hours left to plan..."

"What is there left to plan, dear brother?" Elizabeth answered, almost spitting out the last two words. "They think they're ready, so why waste any more time? It's time they died. Alexander?"

Edward turned and saw that his older brother was putting on his leather riding gloves. Surely Alexander would see reason...

"Alexander, Arthur is just rallying his people for what lies ahead. Don't let Elizabeth's fragile ego and hate fu..."

Without warning, Elizabeth's open palm slammed against Edward's face, the force causing blood to fill his mouth. The twins glared at each other with open hatred, and Edward turned to face Alexander, waiting for his brother to take his side. Yet Edward couldn't contain his surprise when Alexander stood beside Elizabeth before the older man spoke a few hushed words, words that marked the beginning of the end.

Edward looked desperately towards the stone walls of Camelot as a large, flaming missile arched across the sky and an icy wind blew. His eyes followed the blazing trail of the missile and anger bubbled up within him. Anger towards Elizabeth, as they had reached this day because of her own hatred and vengeful heart. Anger towards Alexander, because he had stupidly allowed Elizabeth's own motives fuel his actions. Anger towards himself, because Edward knew that there wasn't anything he could do to stop the attack.

Elizabeth stepped forward and screamed for her army to attack, just as the first volley of arrows from Camelot rained down on them. Edward watched with a morbid fascination as the grotesque creatures surged forward as one, hissing and howling noises rising from the moving mass. It was as though they had created the illusion of water, their movements extremely fluid and their skins shining like black oil. Before the army could reach the stone giants that blocked the way into Camelot, the first lines disappeared down into the tar filled pits that Edward had seen Merlin create earlier.

Edward saw the stone giants suddenly grind their way into movement as the demons struggled to get out of the tar pits. Small fragments of rock crumbled to the ground as the giants took a step forward, stone swords sweeping across them in wide arcs. As the first lines of the army met the swords, Edward saw vividly bright red streaks bathe the giants as the stone guardians cut down the demons. Unnatural screams of pain echoed through the air, while archers loosed their arrows and Alexander sent more missiles hurtling at the walls. Loud, thunderous noises of smashing missiles colliding with the tops of the stone walls boomed in the air and screams of terror, mingled with shouts of command, rippled through the chaos. From the corner of his eye, Edward saw Alexander suddenly surge forward, panic in the older man's face as he pointed silently at Camelot. For there, atop the front tower, stood Merlin, six flaming missiles racing down towards him.

Curiosity moved Edward forward as Alexander struggled with himself, debating between wanting to stop the missiles and wishing that Merlin would die a quick death. Elizabeth quickly joined Edward's side, and she had a small smile tugging at her lips.

"There is no way that he can stop those missiles," Elizabeth said, and Edward shook his head, continuing to watch as Merlin turned left on the tower. Elizabeth's smile turned into a sneer. "You think he can match the power of Alexander's black magic, little brother?"

Edward turned around and walked to his black horse, mounting it quickly as Elizabeth and Alexander did the same.

"I think you've foolishly underestimated him," Edward stated and wheeled his gelding around, noticing that Merlin was now looking directly at them for a second. "The stone guardians should be some indication of his strength..."

"I don't think so," Elizabeth interrupted and with a laughter that sounded a little too crazed, sent out a black lightning bolt that struck the archers to the right of Merlin. "He is but a child, Edward. Some naïve little child, who thinks he can win with magic that is no match to ours..."

Elizabeth's words grew suddenly quiet and Edward felt the smallest of smiles tug at his lips He could see Merlin standing straight and looking up into the sky. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot upwards and quickly branched off into smaller bolts. Even from this distance, Edward could see the complex and ancient weaves of magic that Merlin was using, evidence of the power his adversary now had. Yet even as the bolts became attached to each other, Edward could hear Elizabeth's outrage and Alexander's awe at the display.

"How is this possible?" Elizabeth growled and kicked her horse forward. "I'll put an end to him."

Elizabeth raised her hand as though to send out a bolt of magic. In a moment of conscious clarity, Edward decided that Merlin wasn't going to die at his sister's hands, not at this moment in time nor any other moment. Swiftly taking his long bow from the saddle bag, Edward expertly noosed and aimed the arrow. Edward had a talent for using the bow and arrow, so much so, that ever since he had turned ten years of age, he had never missed his target. He knew he was taking a risk, even at this distance, but he needed to get Merlin out of harm's way before Elizabeth killed him. Taking a breath and letting it out slowly, he released the arrow and watched it soar.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth hissed and grabbed Edward by the shoulder, unbalancing him slightly. Edward refused to look at her as he placed his bow across the saddle's pommel. "You're a decent marksman, Edward, but..."

Elizabeth never had a chance to finish her sentence, as she and the men watched Edward's arrow strike home. Edward glanced to his right and saw pain contort Alexander's face, while a glance to the left saw a smile tug at Elizabeth's lips. Edward returned his gaze to the front in time to see Merlin stumble backwards before disappearing from sight.

"It's not just Merlin you underestimate, Elizabeth," Edward stated, expecting his sister to say something in return.

Instead, Elizabeth kicked her horse into a gallop and led the way down to Camelot.

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**Please read and review!**

**x o x o**


	2. Torn Between Love and Duty

**A/N:**

Here's Chapter 2! Thanks to all your reviews so far!

The lyrics are from Last Night On Earth, by the Australian singer/songwriter, Delta Goodrem!

Please read and review!

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**TORN BETWEEN LOVE AND DUTY**

Arthur's lips still tingled from the heated kiss as he rushed down the courtyard steps towards the lower part of Camelot. A dull ache resided in his shoulder from where he had been pushed to the ground. Throbbing pain pulsed across his forehead, a headache on the verge of becoming a full grown migraine from the shock wave of the impact. At any other time, Arthur would have tucked himself away in bed and hidden from the world. Today wasn't any other time, though. Today was the day that if he or Merlin fell, Camelot would fall forever. _Nothing like a bit of pressure, _Arthur mused as he ran towards the trebuchets.

As he bounded down the central path to the area that had been cleared for the trebuchets, Arthur could hear the death screams and shouts of the archers. He wondered briefly if he knew any of them before banishing that thought from his mind. He couldn't allow personal emotions or thoughts to take hold, which proved difficult when he could see Merlin running along the wooden walkway above. Sending out a silent prayer for Merlin's safety, Arthur drew to a stop when he reached the trebuchets, which were a good twenty metres from the main gate. Arthur was amazed at how much had been done in just under a day. There had been some stables and workshops built there, but a large group of men had worked hard and furiously to tear the buildings down. Now, there were ten trebuchets spaced out evenly, with large piles of stone and rocks of various sizes. Directly above and in front of him was the main archer's tower, where he guessed Merlin would be going.

"Arm the trebuchets!" Arthur shouted and took off his helmet, needing a clear view of his surroundings

The trebuchets were expertly crafted and had cost Camelot a small fortune, just for ten of the wooden weapons. Supported by a large wooden frame that seemed to reach towards the sky, there was a thirty-six foot long arm that stretched out horizontally. At the short end of the arm was a basket, which the men filled with earth, stones or whatever they could find to act as a counterbalance. Arthur eyed the long end of the arm, which was quickly being pulled down by two ropes and tied off. A big, leather pouch was attached to the end of that section, and the men were hurrying to load the pouch from their pile of stones.

"Ready!"

Arthur waited to the count of five for the men to stand to the sides of the trebuchets, a hand on the back lever that would release the arm.

"Fire!"

With an almost silent release, the trebuchets' arms swung up in one fluid motion and released the stone missiles high into the sky. Arthur watched them soar over the front wall before disappearing from sight.

"Reload!"

Arthur wasted no time in having the men reload the trebuchets, wanting a second volley sent flying within the next minute. The men were quicker than Arthur expected and so within twenty seconds, Arthur had issued the command to fire at will. Almost as though on cue, Arthur felt a great big surge within his body, telling him that Merlin was using a great deal of magic. From where he stood, Arthur couldn't see any danger coming from the front which could only mean... As the second wave of stone missiles flew over the walls, a loud boom erupted overhead. Arthur's head whipped up and he stared with open-mouthed amazement.

Bright blue lights, the size of fire flies, rained down on Camelot while a new, looming missile suddenly smashed into an invisible barrier. With the impact of the missile, Arthur saw what could only be described as silver beams of light flash brightly, rippling as though made of cloth. _So that's what the magic was used for,_ Arthur thought and a tiny smile tugged at his lips as three more missiles slammed into the barrier. _In all this chaos, Merlin can still make things sparkle._ With his head turning around to gaze at where Merlin stood, Arthur heard another two booms, which made six explosions so far...

"What the..." Arthur began quietly as he saw Merlin stepping backwards on the archer's tower.

Something wasn't right. Merlin's steps had a slightly staggered feel about them, and Merlin's head was bowed, as though he was looking at something. A frown furrowed Arthur's brow and he took a step forward before noticing a dull pain in his chest. Arthur's frown deepened and before he could rationalise what he saw and felt, Merlin plummeted to the ground.

"Merlin!"

_It's the last night on earth before the great divide  
My hands are shaking time was never on our side_

Arthur's scream ripped from his throat as his legs sprang into action, pushing and propelling him forward. Wide-eyed with fear, Arthur pushed the men manning the trebuchets out of the way as he scrambled to get to Merlin, who he could now see had an arrow sticking out from his chest. Merlin was falling too fast, and Arthur realised he wasn't going to get to him in time.

_You idiot,_ Arthur cursed in the hope that Merlin could hear him. _I'm not going to let you die on me!_

As Arthur skidded to a halt, he raised his hand and to his surprise, a thick white light shot out and raced to Merlin. The magical rope wrapped around Merlin's body and about three feet from the ground, Merlin came to a sudden stop. Arthur raced forward, heart pounding fear and desperation through his veins. He skidded to a halt in front of Merlin's floating form, who was doing his best to stay awake and focused.

"You idiot," Arthur repeated and received a small smile from Merlin. Arthur quickly gathered Merlin into his arms as the white rope disappeared. "Of all the stupid, moronic, reckless things you could do..."

"I had to fall in love with you," Merlin finished jokingly, and Arthur shot him a disapproving look. "I'm sorry, Arthur..."

"Shut up," Arthur interrupted and the black shadows from the stone missiles flying above passed over their bodies.

Arthur took a few moments to look at the arrow sticking out of Merlin's chest. From what he could see, the arrow was to the left of Merlin's heart and high enough not to pierce his lungs. Feeling his fingers hesitantly around Merlin's back, Arthur felt the sharp, metal tip of the arrow poking out. Arthur nibbled his lower lip.

"What?" Merlin asked as he tried to sit up, Arthur helping him to rest against the wall that separated Camelot from the demons on the other side. All around them, screams of men and demons floated on the breeze that was beginning to stir. "Why are you looking all worried?"

"I'm not worried," Arthur stated as confidently as possible and covered Merlin's body as something slammed against the stone wall, causing stone fragments to rain down on them. Pulling away from Merlin, Arthur continued, "I think you're incredibly lucky. Two inches lower, and you'd be..."

Arthur let the rest of the sentence hang between them, not wanting to finish it in case it tempted fate. He wasn't going to break down in tears at the realisation that this wasn't a dream, that Merlin wasn't invincible and could very well die in the blink of an eye. Instead, Arthur was going to lock away his fears until after the battle because Merlin needed him.

Thinking about the arrow and how best to remove it, Arthur pulled out a knife from his boot and brought it up to the shaft of the arrow. His hands shook as Arthur tried to think of any other scenario that didn't involve inflicting pain on Merlin, but time wasn't on their side. All that separated them and the attack on Camelot was the great stone barrier, but even that felt like it wasn't enough. _Time, _Arthur thought. _Time is what we need but don't have._

"Arthur? What are you..."

Merlin's words were lost in a strangled gasp of surprised pain as Arthur snapped the arrow shaft with the knife. Arthur threw the shaft to the side and quickly tucked his knife away, before grabbing hold of the metal arrow tip with his left hand. Placing his right palm across the area that had been pierced, Arthur looked into Merlin's eyes. The young sorcerer glared back indignantly.

"You could have warned me," Merlin ground out.

"And have the pain be ten times worse because you're expecting it?" Arthur asked rhetorically."Besides, now comes the tricky part. Do you know any healing spells?"

Merlin nodded and Arthur took a deep breath. _I hope I know what I'm doing._

"Good. I have to pull the rest of the shaft through, and it's going to hurt like hell," Arthur murmured, and Merlin took a hard swallow. "So I need you to channel healing magic into me so that I can heal you as I'm taking the shaft out."

Again, Merlin nodded.

"All right. On the count of three," Arthur instructed, and Merlin took a deep breath. "One. Two. Three."

As Arthur pulled the shaft downwards, allowing the rest of the wood to pass through Merlin's body, a great heat and surge in power pulsated in Arthur's body. In front of his eyes, Arthur could see what he thought were weaves of magic flow from his palm and into Merlin's chest. When the last of the arrow shaft exited Merlin's back, Arthur threw it to the side and placed his left hand over the exit wound. Warm, slick blood coated Arthur's hand and every bit of him wanted to pull away, because the thought of having Merlin's blood on his hands shook him to the core.

With the last of the weaves tying off the spell, Arthur felt faint tremors beneath his feet as the ground began to shake. A frown crept across Arthur's brow as the tremors began to get larger, as though something was nearing the wall. The small fragments of wall that had fallen to the ground began to jump as the tremors got larger still. On the verge of letting Merlin stand up, Arthur threw himself on top of Merlin as the main wall exploded inward in an outburst of dust and stone. The large, shadowy figure of a stone guardian fell backwards through the whole as snake demons began to try and breach the entry that had just been created.

"Oh, God..."

An explosion of earth and rock in front of the breach broke the stone guardian and sent the snake demons up in the air. As Arthur and Merlin looked up, the Great Dragon soared upwards over Camelot.

_And there's no such thing as a beautiful goodbye  
As an ordinary day I prayed for you a thousand times_

A dark sky, with rolling black clouds and bright flashes of lightning, greeted the Great Dragon as he soared upwards from his underground prison. Loose rocks and dirt fell from his body as his powerful wings beat downwards, propelling him ever closer to the clouds. It took a few moments for his golden eyes to adjust to the flashes of lightning, having grown accustomed to the dark, dank depths below Camelot. It also took a few moments for the muscles in his body to stop screaming at their sudden use, but the Great Dragon smiled as he pushed the aching sensation from his mind. _My, but it feels good to finally be able to stretch properly._ Levelling himself off at a great height, well above any possible dangers to himself, he observed the fighting down below.

A large, heaving mass that flowed like liquid water was surging towards Camelot, or more specifically, towards the opening that had been created by the fallen stone guardian. Large, flaming missiles pounded the walls, and in some places, large cracks appeared down the entire length of the stone barrier. The knights and men of Camelot were piling in towards the opening in a bid to stop the city from being overrun. The Great Dragon flicked his eyes towards the rear of the mass, to where the three black sorcerers were. Bloody red auras surrounded each of them, but it was most prominent around Elizabeth's.

_The auras never lie, _he thought as he circled over the scene. _And hers is stained with more blood than Uther Pendragon's._

The Great Dragon watched with amazement as one man tried to make a mad dash for something in front of the stone guardians, carrying a burning torch. With sudden quickness, several snake demons broke away from the main swell and the man was lost in an instant. _Fool man, _the Great Dragon cursed. He could already see another man trying to make the same mad dash, and again, was quickly swallowed up by a group of demons. The Great Dragon wondered what they could possibly be running towards, and when he narrowed his eyes, could suddenly make out large pits of oil and tar encircling Camelot. Clear understanding echoed through his mind as he realised what needed to be done to give Merlin and Arthur the time they needed.

With a loud roar that was dimmed by the cracking of fresh lightning, the Great Dragon reared up and suddenly plummeted to the ground. Cool air blasted past him as he sped faster and faster to the ground. The closer he got to the ground, the greater the chance that he would be hit by dark magic The Great Dragon had great power, but would it be enough to protect him?

It was a sobering thought, because of all the different scenarios where he had pictured how his life would end, he had never thought for an instant that it would be like this. He had always thought that he would be able to give Merlin some last words of wisdom, or at the very least, say goodbye to the young boy who had become like a friend to him.

Letting out a last roar, the Great Dragon laid his wings flat against the length of his body. He zoomed down ever closer and opened his mouth, billowing flames shooting out and igniting the tar pits. A magical ball of ice skimmed over his head as he began to climb once more, the firing raging and encircling Camelot. More balls of ice streaked their way through the air.

Twisting around to outmanoeuvre the incoming attack, the Great Dragon managed to see that the snake demons were mindlessly piling into the fire pit. The ones that were busy piling into the gap in the wall were quickly diverting themselves to their comrades and quickly becoming incinerated in the process.

_It appears that the all powerful sorcerers weren't smart enough to give their minions brains,_ the Great Dragon contemplated, and he watched with a small amount of pride as the Camelot men made short work of the remaining demons.

A searing pain suddenly bloomed around his neck and the Great Dragon looked downwards, hissing in disgust and outrage at what he saw. There, glowing brightly and burning into his flesh, was a chain made with fire and black magic. He had never sensed the chain and was taken aback by a sudden yanking sensation, as though he was being pulled to the ground. The Great Dragon desperately tried to break the magical chain and fly upwards, but a paralysis of black magic chilled his soul and body.

As the chain tightened, the Great Dragon fell like a stone towards the writhing mass of snakes.

Arthur was standing over Merlin with Excalibur in hand as he watched men run to fill the breach, cutting down snake demons in their paths. One or two demons made it through the men, but they were quickly killed before they strayed too far. Magic pulsed just below the surface ,and Arthur felt the tips of his fingers tingle as he tightened his grip on Excalibur. A sudden shape, large and black with glowing yellow eyes, was flying towards Arthur with mouth open and teeth glistening. Acting fast, Arthur ran four steps before squaring and raising Excalibur above his head, impaling the animal on the shining blade. With a sneer of disgust, Arthur kicked the animal off and ran back to Merlin, who had begun to stand up.

"And where do you think you're going?" Arthur demanded as he took hold of Merlin by the shoulders.

"Arthur, I'm needed," Merlin answered and pointed to the breach in the wall.

"I'm getting you somewhere safe." Arthur began to lead Merlin away, but Merlin dug his heels in. Arthur turned to look at him. "You're choosing now to be stubborn?"

"I'm not being stubborn, Arthur," Merlin answered and Arthur gave him a yank. "Ow, stop that!"

"Then come with me!"

"No!"

The sudden sound of fire interrupted them, and Arthur rushed to one of the cracks in the wall, just in time to see the Great Dragon lighting the fire pits. He could see snake demons go up in flames and the others turn back to help their comrades, as men ran forward to kill off the remaining demons. A small part of Arthur wanted to be out there, on the front line with his men, but another part of him wanted to stay with Merlin to make sure he wasn't going to get hurt again.

"You should be with them," Merlin stated, and Arthur turned to look at him. "You should be out there, fighting with your people."

"But..."

"No, Arthur," Merlin interrupted and straightened his back, just as Uther came running down the path with a group of knights. The knights carried on running while Uther stopped for a moment.

"What are you doing standing here?" Uther demanded, and Arthur raised an eyebrow. "In case you hadn't realised, there's a battle going on."

"I know that father, but Merlin's been injured and I need to be with him," Arthur answered, and Uther glanced at Merlin. "And I also know that I need to be with my men..."

"Go, Arthur," Uther and Merlin said simultaneously.

"What?"

"I'll stay with Merlin," Uther expanded, "I promise you, I won't let anything happen to him."

"But I..."

"Arthur, do as your father says," Merlin pleaded. "You need to direct your men because they need you. Where you go, they'll follow. Please, Arthur."

"Arthur, go to your men."

"If anything happens to you, Merlin, I couldn't..."

Merlin smiled a small smile. "I know. Now go, Arthur. Go!"

With a final agonized glance at Merlin, Arthur turned and ran towards the front line.

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**Please review!**

**x o x o**


	3. Protecting The Innocent

**A/N:**

Sorry for the delay everyone! The school I'm working in has had a whole heap of inspections, the Year 6's have had a bunch of tests and I've been busy prepping for those!

Anywho, here's Chapter 3, and I really hope you enjoy it! Thanks as always to Cori for being my fabulous beta, and to you my readers for reviewing my work!

**WARNING! **There's quite a bit of graphically detailed violence, more so in the middle part of the story than anything. So please, if you don't like blood, gore and detailed violence, then don't read it! Otherwise, feel free to read and review!

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**PROTECTING THE INNOCENT**

For all of Galwaine's height, he felt like a small boy among the statuesque kings of Camelot. There was Nathaniel Pendragon, the first Pendragon to ever have ruled Camelot, and the first king to have declared magic lawful; Tobias Pendragon, the sixth King of Camelot who famously disappeared for three weeks to return with the loyalty of three nations; and Joseph Pendragon, who infamously declared war on the six surrounding nations out of madness but then successfully sent them crawling back home. And then there was Galwaine, a tall, dark haired blacksmith from a small village. Not the sort of comparison he liked to make about himself, especially with a raging battle going on around him.

Galwaine was at the opening that led down into the tunnel that ran down to the vaulted area where the women and children were safely housed. To his left were the dead kings of Camelot, and to his right, the animated suits of armour that stared out with sightless eyes. Both groups were dressed in full battle dress, with sharpened weapons. The sound of leather gauntlets tightening on sword hilts made Galwaine's skin crawl and itch, and his hand tightened on his own sword. Galwaine wore little more than a makeshift chest piece to protect his vital organs. Again, not a comparison he wanted to make while staring death in the face.

Looking out at the courtyard where Arthur had given his address earlier, Galwaine's mind drifted to William. Galwaine wondered how his partner was holding up and yearned to hold William in his arms and rush him away from the danger that surrounded them. Instead, he was here, at the front of the tunnel as the first line of defence for the women and children. _And for William._ A small smile graced Galwaine's lips as he remembered fondly the first time he met William, under the roots of the willow tree with William trying to rescue a fallen lamb. That one moment had set in motion the best two and a half years of Galwaine's life, and Galwaine was determined that there would be many more years of happiness to come.

"Clear the way!"

Galwaine's head snapped forward as two men, with torn clothes and bloodied faces, bounded forward with a man held between them. There was an awkwardness in the way that the men carried the other, and as they passed by Galwaine, he immediately saw why. The poor man, no older than twenty-five summers was writhing about in their grasp, with blood leaking from where his right leg used to be. A few cuts and bruises adorned his face and all Galwaine could do was stand by and let him pass.

"Out of the way!"

This time, a shrieking and screaming pierced the tunnel as two more men, this time knights, held another knight upright between them. Galwaine's stomach lurched and acidic bile rose in his throat. The man in question was missing his legs from the upper knee down, with blood gushing from the ripped flesh. Blood was spilling from a gaping wound in the lower chest cavity and as the three knights passed by, the man's head slumped forward and silence fell in the tunnel. For a brief moment, the knights' steps faltered before resuming — although Galwaine knew they would be taking their burden not to the infirmary, but to lie with the other dead.

Galwaine whispered a few words of prayer, hope and strength and turned back to face the front of the tunnel. The floor had just begun to shake and small cracks began to form in the tunnel walls. Some of the animated armour suits stepped forward, as did some of the kings, as men ran straight past the tunnel entrance with swords raised and crying out orders. Galwaine had a bad feeling about this and his gut was telling him to get back further down the tunnel, more towards the infirmary doors, if not inside the infirmary itself. Something bad was coming, something they weren't prepared for.

"We need to move down the tunnels," Galwaine spoke up and Tobias Pendragon turned around to stare at him, a hint of madness in his eyes.

"Why?"

It was a simple enough question but Galwaine was unsure how to respond.

"I... I don't know how to explain it, sire," Galwaine answered, uncertainty in his voice, "I just know that we have to get deeper into the tunnels."

Tobias considered Galwaine quietly for a moment, making the giant blacksmith fidget on the spot. Gabriel turned to Nathaniel and Joseph, before nodding at them. Galwaine watched with astonishment as the two kings pulled down their visors on their helms.

"What are you doing? We have to go down the tunnels... protect the women and children!"

Tobias regarded Galwaine before pulling down his own visor as more men and knights ran past the opening of the tunnel.

"We're going to the fight, young blacksmith," Tobias stated. "If we stay here, where there has been no threat so far, many of our men and allies will lose their lives."

"And if you go out there, they'll still lose their lives!"

Tobias nodded curtly. "True, but at least out there, we'll be making a difference, no matter how small our contribution." Tobias sighed. "You're asking us to stay based on a feeling, something that most men get the first time they see real combat. I can't do that, not when we could provide the last bit of force that may tip the battle in our favour. I'm sorry."

Galwaine didn't know what to say. Maybe Tobias was right, maybe he was just experiencing these feelings because it really was his first time of seeing such bloodshed. Maybe his worrying for William was making him see hidden dangers that didn't really exist. _But what if you're right? _Galwaine's inner voice whispered, _What if something bad is on its way, and you're the only line of defence between it and the people you're supposed to be protecting?_

"Please, you're making a mistake," Galwaine pleaded and grabbed hold of Tobias's lower arm. The dead king turned back to look at Galwaine. "I know I'm not wrong, please, stay. You must believe me."

"I'm sorry." Tobias pulled his arm free and unsheathed his sword. Holding it in the air, he rallied the dead kings and suits of armour to him. "For Camelot!"

Galwaine watched in despair as Tobias Pendragon lead the group of dead kings and suits of armour out of the tunnel, their chain mail and metal armour gleaming in the flashes of lightning. He took a few hurried steps forward, right hand on the hilt to his sword, and stopped. After a moment's hesitation, he turned around and went back into the tunnel, tightened his grip on the sword hilt. He repeated this pattern several more times, each time a bit quicker and more uneasy than the last. The only thing that didn't change was the feeling that something bad was coming.

Letting out a growl of frustration, Galwaine stopped pacing and closed his eyes, trying to restore a bit of calm amongst the chaos around him. Galwaine slowed his breathing the way William had taught him, but he still felt on edge. Just then, his skin began to chill and a coolness swept over his body like a blanket. The tips of his fingers tingled and his muscles felt stiff and frigid. Opening his eyes, Galwaine saw the tunnel walls beside him were covered in a thin film of frost, sparkling crystals glistening in his eyes. A small puff of icy breath floated in front of his eyes and a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach grew within him.

_Don't turn around. Whatever you do, don't..._

Yet even as Galwaine thought that, he could feel his feet very slowly shuffling around and he unsheathed the sword. More puffs of icy breath floated upwards and Galwaine's eyes widened in fear as his blood ran cold. There, at the front of the tunnel entrance, stood two men, one of whom Galwaine knew was Alexander, if Merlin's description was anything to go by. The other man, whom Galwaine found strangely captivating, held a bow with a nocked arrow. In one swift motion, Alexander unsheathed his sword and charged at Galwaine.

The air in the close confines of the tunnel was uncomfortably thick and clammy with the scent of sweat and fear of the twenty men standing near William. There was only enough room to stand side by side in rows of three, and William stood at the back, closest to the large wooden doors they were there to guard. For behind those doors stood the infirmary, housing all of the women, children and injured men. More importantly, Gaius and Hunith were there. William felt a swelling of pride at having been chosen by Merlin for such an important job, and no amount of uncomfortable sweat or fear would make him move. Even if he did feel as though the shadows were darker than normal and had human form.

William took small comfort in the knowledge that Galwaine was at the top of the tunnel, but that small comfort quickly turned into worry. Galwaine was their first line of defence against anything that threatened the rest of them, but if Galwaine fell...

_No, _William thought firmly, _Galwaine's going to be fine. He has the dead kings of Camelot for help, and those creepy animated suits of armour..._

"Did you see that?"

William glanced quickly over to where the oldest man of the group, John, stood, right beside the flickering torches. All of the other men were looking to where John was pointing, which was about two hundred paces away from them. A second pair of torches flickered there.

"What did you see, John?" William asked and stepped forward. As he did so, William couldn't help but feel as though the shadows really were trying to take on human form.

"There were two men, right by the torches over there," John stated and took a step forward. "They were carrying someone... it looked like he had a leg missing or something. Then just as they passed the torches... something... reached out and grabbed them."

Some of the men began to laugh nervously.

"I'm serious. Something got them." John repeated defensively.

William stepped forward, resisting the urge to avert his gaze from the flickering torches ahead of him. For a moment, William thought he saw the shadows around the torches thicken and he could see solid human shapes. Blinking and looking back, the shadows looked like any other dark shadow in the tunnel.

"We should stay here, by the torches," William commented and the group of men turned to look at him. Never before had so many looked at William to listen to him, and William felt a pang of self-awareness that caused him to fidget on his toes.

"Don't tell us you believe him," one of the men exclaimed.

"Especially when it's a well known fact that John has always seen things that aren't really there," another man contributed.

"I think that we should be careful," William answered and the men snorted in disagreement. "We don't know what could..."

"Exactly! We don't know anything, because it was only John to see this strange disappearance!"

Just then, the faint rumblings and vibrations of the ground shaking around them interrupted the dispute. William placed a hand on to the wall closest to him for support and instantly drew it back, for when he touched it, it felt icy cold like the grave. William pressed the tips of his fingers to his lips to confirm what he had felt, only to taste something acrid and rotten in his mouth. He spat vehemently on the floor and felt everyone's eyes on him.

"The wall... I leant against it when the ground started to shake. When I did... it was deathly cold and tasted foul," William attempted to explain, only to receive looks of scepticism and disbelief.

One of the men touched the wall beside William and licked his fingers. "The wall's not cold and it tastes like rock..."

A piercing scream echoing down the tunnel caused everyone to spin around, hands going to their weapons. After a few moments, the scream ceased and deadly silence filled the tunnel. All that could be heard was the heavy panting and footfalls of two men. William managed to get a clear view of the men coming around the bend and into the light of the torches. The man in the middle was missing his lower legs and a large hole looked as though it was ripped through the man's torso. William noticed, with a sickening feeling in his stomach, that a thick, black trail was dripping along behind the man. The two knights plodded along as though unaware of the unfortunate sight trailing behind them and William wished, just for a moment, he too had that blissful ignorance.

Right on the edge of the torch light, the two knights suddenly stopped in mid-step. Without warning, they dropped their dead comrade and drew their swords.

"Hey!" John cried out and took a step forward. "What are you doing? What's going on?"

What happened next would haunt William for the rest of his days.

The two knights turned so that they were back to back with each other, one facing the way they had just come, the other the way they were supposed to go. William watched with alarm as the way back up the tunnel became thick with blackness, just as the torches began to flicker as though to go out. As one knight went to grab one of the torches, something solid sprang from the shadows and landed atop of him. The cry of alarm never came from the fallen knight as the solid shape back-handed him viciously while the other knight was suddenly yanked forward by an unseen force, away from his fallen comrade.

Everyone began to back up against the doors, just as the sickening noise of crunching bone bounced off of the stone walls. William watched as the knight that had disappeared came running out of the blackness with an ear piercing scream, minus his right arm. The knight that had been pushed to the floor scrabbled backwards and they all watched as the one-armed knight suddenly fell to the ground.

"Help me! Please, God, help me!"

The knight stretched out his one remaining arm in desperation, and William instinctively moved forward to go to the man's aid. John, however, grabbed hold of William's hand and pulled him back.

"Those shadow things... they might not have noticed us..." John whispered hoarsely. "We're no good to anyone if we're dead... no good to the ones we're supposed to protect."

William watched helplessly as the knight that had scrabbled out of the way began to run towards them, only to be suddenly stopped and suspended in mid-air. A strangled gurgling sound blossomed from the knight and William could see something dark oozing out of the man's open mouth. William raised his hand to his mouth and fought the urge to gag for fear of alerting the demons that were toying with the knights. _But what if they know we're here, _William couldn't help thinking. _What if they're just showing off what could happen to us?_

The suspended knight suddenly began to convulse and William saw a large shadow step up behind him, almost blocking out all of the light from the dim torches. The effect was surreal, the demon and knight having a fuzzy yellow halo around them. With one swift motion, the demon ripped the knight's head off, but not before the other knight, the one without the arm, screamed for help once more. William turned his head away and began to hum childhood lullabies to himself, behind clenched eyes, as his body shook with fear, while the other men packed in more tightly around him in an attempt to stay well out of the demons' way.

The sound of ripping bone and screams of the last knight filled the air, as did the stench of freshly spilled blood. Then, as quickly as it started, the noises and darkness disappeared. Slowly, oh so slowly, William opened his eyes.

"Where did they go?" William asked quietly and looked to John for answers.

"I don't know," John answered, took a few steps forward before turning back to face the group. "See, I told you something was..."

John never got to finish the sentence as, without warning, a large, solid hook erupted through his chest, spraying William's face and the others with his blood. John was yanked backwards and his screams filled the tunnel and everything erupted into chaos as the remaining men began to run up the tunnel.

William took three steps forward before stopping as he saw the men being chased and dragged into the shadows, their screams filling William's ears even as he clamped his hands over them. He reached out for the torch opposite him and then backed himself up against the wall, right beside the other torch. Tears of fear and despair stung William's eyes as the salty droplets slipped down his cheeks. The torches ahead of him, where the bloodshed had all begun, now flickered out and he was left alone in the darkness. Taking his sword out from its scabbard, William began to hum the childhood lullabies once more as he felt the shadows turn to close in on him.

The infirmary was a hub of noisy commotion, despite the battle raging outside. Children played in corners with wooden dolls for the girls, and sticks and stones for the boys. Friendly competitions between the children made things interesting, until a girl broke down in tears or a boy ended up with a bloody lip. Then, the older women with greying hair and slight hunches, who were looking after the children, would chase away the troublemakers, much to the glee of the children, who just saw it as another part of their game. The younger women were at the sides watching this going on and as they tidied the dusty infirmary and readied poultices, they had small smiles on their faces. Chatter from the women rose and Hunith talked amicably with groups of women as she and Gaius made sure everything was set up for when the casualties began coming in. All in all, everything looked as though things were in order, which was more than Jack could say for the group of men that were supposed to be under his command.

The men ranged from the sixteen-summers old boys who thought they were going to be the best fighters, to salt-and-pepper haired men who had seen well over forty summers and thought they knew everything. There were about twenty of them in total, but to Jack, it felt as though there were fifty men arguing instead of the twenty. The argument had been going on as soon as they heard sword clashing with sword, the metallic sound floating down through the small windows and vents located around the cavernous infirmary. The younger men wanted to go out and fight, proclaiming that Arthur had forced them to be down here because he thought they were inadequate and useless. The older men, however, argued that they were safer down here protecting the women and children, and that battle would come to them. The remaining few men, who were aged in between the two main groups, tried to remain neutral for as long as possible. Jack watched the arguing with mild frustration from a wooden bench, just outside of earshot, but close enough to hear that the men wanted Jack to decide their course of action. Jack rubbed his temples as he felt a headache coming on.

"Here, drink this."

A small goblet was held in front of him and Jack blinked in surprise. He hadn't even heard the man approach, let alone noticed him stand right in front of him. Looking up while stretching his hand outwards, Jack stopped midway to look at the man who had offered him the drink. The man had fiery red hair, as bright a red as a roaring fire in the height of winter. Deep green eyes looked down at Jack and a tiny smile danced across full lips, while dark stubble created a handsome shadow across a square jaw. Jack felt a momentary swelling in his breeches before pushing the thought to the side, so as not to embarrass himself when he stood up. _While everyone's outside fighting to the death, I'm in here wanting to be intimate with a stranger I've never met before, _Jack chided mentally as he accepted the goblet with a small smile of thanks. The stranger sat down beside him.

"Thank you," Jack smiled again and the stranger returned the smile. "I don't think we've met before, but I'm..."

"Jack," the stranger stated and Jack nodded. The man held out his hand. "I'm Matthew."

Reaching across his body with his free hand, Jack shook Matthew's hand, which was marginally larger than his own.

"It's nice to meet you," Jack said and quietly took a sip from the goblet, while looking over at the gaggle of men still arguing, "Although I'm not sure a goblet of water will be enough to stop a headache from coming."

Matthew smiled sympathetically. "I guess it's the price you pay for being what they consider to be a leader down here."

"I'm not a leader..."

As though on cue, the group of men suddenly turned and walked over to Jack, with the slightest hint of menace in the way that they walked. Jack stood up and braced himself as the two apparent leaders for the different points of view stood in front of the others.

"Jack. Tell these... children... that Arthur gave us an important mission to do and that's why we're here in the infirmary."

"No, tell these old men that we've been sidelined so that the rich can take all the glory!"

Taking a deep breath, Jack pinched the top of his nose, wondering what he could say to appease both sides, without insulting either. _I'm just a tailor, _Jack thought, _not a leader. _As Jack stepped forward, Matthew stepped to be behind him and Jack felt a small moment of comfort to know that someone appeared to be on his side at least.

"I hope that for all of your disagreements, you all can agree on three things," Jack began and the men quietened. "First, you all know that the women and children need protecting from the battle going on above us."

A murmur of stubborn agreement rippled through the group.

"Second, you all know that before the battle is over, demons from your darkest nightmares will be trying to break through those doors."

Jack indicated to the ones over his shoulder, which had a large wooden post stretched across horizontally. He watched as the men nodded quietly.

"Third, and perhaps most importantly, if Arthur didn't trust or believe in your abilities as expert swordsmen and fighters, would he really have put you here if it meant risking the women and children?"

The men looked at each other then.

"I understand that each of you want to prove your worth, to show your king that he was indeed wise to put you chosen few here. I also understand that you want to be part of the fighting, to protect any brothers, fathers, or family that are being attacked. But what use are you dead?" Jack asked and stepped forward. "We have good men out there, in the tunnel..."

Screams of sheer pain and fear suddenly pierced the air, instantly silencing the activities of the infirmary. Jack slowly turned to face the wooden doors, as more screams echoed through into the cavernous room. The men behind Jack took a few shuffled steps forward, as women began to scoop the children up and hurried them into the back recesses of the room. Within moments, quiet crying from the children filled the infirmary while Gaius tried to get Hunith to go to the back as well.

"Help me! Please, God, help me!"

That scream caused the men to suddenly jolt into action, surging forward in a unified attack on the door. Jack and Matthew managed to get to the doors first and began to push back the men who were now all trying to get out. A few of the men grabbed hold of Jack and began to pull him away, and one managed to hit Matthew square in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the side in a daze.

"Don't go out there!" Jack yelled and went to Matthew's side. "Whatever it is that's out there, whatever it is that's making them scream, you can't open the door! That's the only thing that stands between it and us. Please, don't do it!"

None of the men turned to look at Jack, though, as they began to lift the heavy piece of wood that was holding the door shut. Strained grunts and groans rose from the men as they grappled with the beam before dropping it to the side. The men backed away, pulled the doors open with them and ran out into the darkness.

Scrambling to his feet, Jack managed to run a few paces before he fell to the floor, legs pressed firmly together as Matthew held on to him. Jack began to kick at Matthew's legs as the women tried to push the heavy doors shut, his hands scrambling to push himself up off the floor. Matthew pushed Jack back down and jumped to his feet, helping the women close the door. As Jack righted himself, Matthew was slamming the wooden beam back across the door.

"What are you doing?" Jack shouted in a mixture of exasperation and desperation. Jack ran at Matthew and thumped him hard on the chest with a balled fist.

"I'm protecting the innocent," Matthew replied hurriedly and caught Jack's fist in his hand. "And that includes you, Jack..."

Sudden high pitched screaming suddenly filled the air again and the floor began to shake and tremble, small rocks and stones on the floor jumping about. Jack braced himself against the door with his back, just as Matthew did the same. Looking down at the floor, Jack fought back the urge to throw up as a river of blood began to leak through under the door. Slow at first, the dark red liquid oozed over the dirty floor and Jack closed his eyes. He felt a stronger hand take hold of his own and squeeze it, while Jack thought, _William... Galwaine... Oh God, please, no..._

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